upsize but by how much?

07-28-2012, 02:17 AM

Currently have a 5'8 sweet p, which was bought as a board to cover 0-2' suncoast waves, trouble is i am finding for me it just dosent have the paddle power in the tiny stuff. as previously mentioned once up and running, in 2-4' waves i cant fault it that much (apart from the occasional slide out). having increased in weight since beeing out of the water for approx 10 weeks iam now at 97kg's, but usually hover around 93-95kg's, would the baked in 5'9 with a slight increase in volume give me the paddle power in the small stuff, or will i need to go another three liters up to 5'11, to get the crowd beating early wave entry?

For these small conditions im trying to find the balance between paddle power and not feeling like im riding a sup...is it achievable? Any advice will be appreciated.

5'10" sweet potato at Alex Beachbeat belonging to Hingy.
It's small...take it for a spin.
I was all set to buy a 5'1O" spud as I've found the same thing as you re the 5'8".
Took the 5'10" out in 1' waves at Alex and easy catching waves and easy speed with Indo controllers.
Then the 5'11" baked came up at an unbeatable price so was duly grabbed.
But I would have been happy with the 5'10" spud too.
A test ride will answer your inquiry best.

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5'10" sweet potato at Alex Beachbeat belonging to Hingy.
It's small...take it for a spin.
I was all set to buy a 5'1O" spud as I've found the same thing as you re the 5'8".
Took the 5'10" out in 1' waves at Alex and easy catching waves and easy speed with Indo controllers.
Then the 5'11" baked came up at an unbeatable price so was duly grabbed.
But I would have been happy with the 5'10" spud too.
A test ride will answer your inquiry best.

Well that is one option. But IMHO the smaller the better with these boards. Another option would be chin ups and push ups for strength. Sprinting for cardio and firing up your metabolism. Cut out all sugar including fruit, fruit juice etc. You ll easily drop a couple of kgs feel fitter and stronger, and you ll be thinking of a 5"5 baked potato for summer instead!!!!!

interestingly on the couple of occasions i have ridden the sweet p in good waves, i have felt like i probably could have gone a smaller size maybe down to a 5'6, but in the micro stuff and gaining a few kg's being out of the water with an injury to rib intercostal muscle, i think some more volume is needed. more cardio cant hurt though.

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interestingly on the couple of occasions i have ridden the sweet p in good waves, i have felt like i probably could have gone a smaller size maybe down to a 5'6, but in the micro stuff and gaining a few kg's being out of the water with an injury to rib intercostal muscle, i think some more volume is needed. more cardio cant hurt though.

There you go, keep your current sweet for smaller waves and purchase a 5"5 baked for when your feelin good and the waves are on! Nothing like riding a little board on a bigger wave the speed is amazing. In my 5"3 baked, I am currently liking rastas front fins and controllers in the back, tried this on cuttles recommendation and it works....cheers cuttlefish!

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I agree that moving up in size won't help you improve on your catch-ability much. All it'll do is take away from the surf-ability of the board. I think there is something about the nose shape that fights early entry into the wave. I switch back and forth from the Sweet Potato (5'4) and my Spitfire (5'10) and it's noticeably easier to catch waves earlier on the Spitfire. My hope is that the Baked Potato shape will help with the early entry problem.

I'm buying a sup.
Gasp, choke, booooo!
I had one which I paddled on the river and would take my toddler son on the front with me.
Sold it off and all I've got to take him for a paddle with is a Bic 9'4" but he's not keen on going on the front of it.
So the spud and the Bic are up for grabs which finances the flat day river paddler.
Doesn't mean I think the baked is markedly better than the sweet but the baked has more volume so easier for me to catch waves.
Plus I've already put some foot wells into the baked *so not so good to sell) but the fst deck on the spud is so much stronger.